New Poet Laureate of the United States

Kay Ryan, "known for her sly, compact poems that revel in wordplay and internal rhymes," has been named the 16th poet laureate of the U.S., according to the New York Times. "I so didn't want to be a poet," said Ryan, who has published six poetry collections. "I came from sort of a self-contained people who didn't believe in public exposure, and public investigation of the heart was rather repugnant to me. I couldn't resist. It was in a strange way taking over my mind. My mind was on its own finding things and rhyming things. I was getting diseased. She has no definite plans for her new position, but might like to "celebrate the Library of Congress . . . maybe I'll issue library cards to everyone." Grove Press, which has published three of her collections--Elephant Rocks, Say Uncle and The Niagara River--said that it will publish New and Selected Poems by the new poet laureate.


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